Well, darn it! I have been lurking on this forum for a long time in anticipation of buying and fixing up a Hi-Lo. We finally took the plunge and bought one off eBay, but I should have listened to all of you A LOT better. Even though the seller said it was in good condition (specifically they said that the frig needed a net thermostat and that there were a few light bulbs missing), we started the cleanup today and it turns out there are a number of issues, the worst being water damage in three walls (both sides and the rear). There's no bowing or sagging, but the wallpaper is delaminating, the under layer is punky, and one set of overhead cabinets is in danger of falling down.

So, I've emailed the seller and asked for a refund, but I figure that's a long shot. It's a 1988 longer model, probably 26'. The floor plan has the kitchen and dinette in the front, the jacknife sofa amidship, and the corner bathroom and bed in the rear. The furnace works nicely, as does the stove and oven. The FM radio is delightful, with nice sound. We think that the water pump & heater are still good, but not sure. Air conditioner we haven't even tried. Upholstery and sigh in good condition, although some more cleaning is in order.

So I am asking all of you wise people for advice now that I've really screwed this deal up. We had planned on 2-3 days with of hard work cleaning and fixing up the little things, but we just aren't ready to tear in to walls. We have a business to run that can't be left not ended for that long! We have about $2400 in the deal so far. Is this thing worth trying to sell, with the assumption that we would, of course, disclose all the flaws we have found, or should we try to part it out? Hiring someone to work on the walls is probably not in the budget.

Any ideas?

(I don't have photos to post yet, but if you go in ebay and search recently completed listings for a 1988 in New Ulm, TX, that's the one we bought. We paid to have it shipped to our house in Colorado.)

I am so sorry the seller was dishonest with you. That is why it is important to check it out in person. My best advice since you can't devote the time to fix it is to try and sell it or part it out. You probably would make more $ parting it out. You may just have to tarp it up good and wait until the spring to either sell it or part it out.

Sam & Jerry, thanks for your replies. Jerry, what I have learned is that eBay's Buyer Protection Plan does not cover older vehicles, even if the description is inaccurate. Apparently my only recourse is to leave negative feedback, and you can bet your lotto ticket that if they don't own up to this and try to make it right, I sure will!

Sam, your suggestion is just about the conclusion we had come to. We have a place to store it at no cost, so we will probably make sure it's ready for winter, tarp it, and park it. It would be sad if it were parted out, because it has a lot of life left in it, but . . . That may be our best alternative.

Make sure you put RV antifreeze in it so it makes it through the winter without further dammage. If you part it out you could use the frame for a utility trailer. Youtubr has videos on how to winterize. Post pictures of the interior so we can give you input on what we think of the dammage.

What are u planning on using it for?Thats the real question. Are u planning on living in it, or just camping out? Did you want a showpiece, or a comfortable spot away from home? 2400. isnt so bad. It's all in what you want out of it.
Hope you can save it. If not, then learn from it. To me, they're like puzzles.

Jack brought out an excellent point, that being that although water stains are showing does not indicate structural damage is present. You may have some surface damage which affects the aesthetics and could cause health issues [mold] but not affect the structural stability. You used the word "punky" to describe the damage, if by that you mean the 1/8" wall panel has gotten wet and dried out and now it is splintering underneath the wallpaper laminate, that may not be as difficult to remedy as you think. Before undertaking or contemplating any interior repairs, you should look the roof over very closely [or have a professional look at it] to see if the source of the interior damage has been fixed.

There have been several posts dealing with roof, wall, ceiling repair due to a leaky roof. Both gearyk and I [jcurtis95] have done extensive repairs on our roofs and gearyk has done some major ceiling repair on the interior, and I will soon be doing the interior ceiling repair on our Hi Lo. I do not know the extent yet but my initial thinking is that I will have to remove all the elastic laminate on the ceiling, allow a couple of weeks of heat and fans to complete remove the moisture fom the plywood underneath the elastic, then apply new Luan ceiling panels ala gearyk and paint it to our tastes.

You might use the 'search' option to see various techniques used to address your issue. You might start here: Roof Repair

Fortunately we had bought an insurance policy to cover damage on our RV and I filed a claim and as yet have not heard back from the claims department ;we are presently RV'ing on the Texas Coast and should have information when we return in December.

I would recommend you check the extent of the source of the leakage and then determine a course of action.

Liz, Take it from someone who has gone thru what you are considering doing. Just take one step at a time and you will be surprised at what can be accomplished. Without photos it's hard to say how much damage you have. I spent almost a year fixing mine, but I had quite a bit of rot on the upper walls and ceiling. I rebuilt quite a bit of the walls and ceiling before I covered them with new paneling, plus made my own trim which took a lot of time. As of right now I have approx $1500.00 without new tires in my rebuild. Now if I didn't own woodworking tools and know how to use them I probably would not have tried to rebuild the Hi-lo I bought at a super low price. Matter of fact I know I would have passed on this no matter the price if I didn't have the tools or skills.

Hi Liz
You have a very active HiLo club in Colorado, so seek some help from that group. If you have a problem finding a member their, get back with me here and I will give you the ph# of a couple of members in Colo Spgs.